Section 5310: Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities

Section 5310: Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities is sponsored by Federal Transit Administration (FTA). This program provides funding to states to improve mobility for seniors and individuals with disabilities. Eligible projects include capital expenses like accessible vehicles (buses and vans), wheelchair lifts, ramps, and mobility management programs.

Section 5310 Elderly and Disabled Program Department of Transportation Doing Business with NYSDOT SECTION 5310 ELDERLY AND DISABLED PROGRAM Section 5310-Application Material Section 5310-Forms & Additional Info Finance and Integrated Modal Services > Specialized Transportation > Section 5310 Elderly and Disabled Program Specialized Transportation SECTION 5310 PROGRAM - ENHANCED MOBILITY of SENIORS and INDIVIDUALS with DISABILITIES To provide not-for-profit organizations and other eligible applicants assistance to meet the specialized transportation needs of seniors and individuals with disabilities The Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities Public Transportation grants program (49 USC, Section 5310) provides funding to improve accessibility and mobility for seniors and persons with disabilities.

In New York State, the NYS Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) is the agency designated by the Governor to administer this federal funding program with oversight from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). The Section 5310 program funds are sub-allocated to large urbanized areas, small urbanized areas, and to the State for rural areas based on the size of the target populations.

This program provides funds for vehicles, other capital inclucing mobility management, and operating expenses to recipients for: Public transportation projects planned, designed, and carried out to meet the special needs of seniors and individuals with disabilities when public transportation is insufficient, inappropriate, or unavailable; Public transportation projects that exceed the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 (42 U.S.C.

12101 et seq.) ; Public transportation projects that improve access to fixed-route service and decrease reliance on complementary paratransit; and Alternatives to public transportation projects that assist seniors and individuals with disabilities with transportation. This grant opportunity requires a 20% local share match for capital and mobility management projects, and a 50% matching share for operating projects.

Vehicle purchases are completed through the use of the NYS Office of General Service (OGS) Adult bus Contract and require only the 20% local match at time of contract signing. Other projects are reimbursement based and require reporting forms and expense reports.

These include, but are not limited to: Vans and other paratransit vehicles Acquisition of transportation services under a contract, lease or other arrangement Pedestrian signals or other accessible features Costs that are directly tied to transit operations Traditional projects for Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities grants are awarded to nonprofit organizations and/or local public entities who can certify that no nonprofits can perform the project or they are identified as the coordinating agency for these transportation services.

In order to be eligible to apply for non-traditional New Freedom-like projects (maximum of 45% of projects statewide) for federal funding under the FTA Section Enhanced 5310 program solicitation in the State of New York, the entity applying must be one of the following: A private not-for-profit organization incorporated within NYS A State or local Governmental Authority Operators of public transportation services, including private operators of public transportation services, who receive the 5310 grant indirectly through a recipient.

Private taxi companies that provide shared-ride taxi service to the public or to special categories of users (such as seniors or individuals with disabilities) on a regular basis are also eligible recipients. A minimum of 55% of the available funding awards will go to traditional Section 5310 capital projects.

Traditional Section 5310 projects are those public transportation capital projects planned, designed, and carried out (by eligible subrecipients) to meet the special needs of seniors and individuals with disabilities when public transportation is insufficient, inappropriate, or unavailable.

The remaining funds may support public transportation projects that exceed the requirements of the ADA, improve access to fixed-route service, decrease reliance by individuals with disabilities on complementary paratransit or provide alternatives to public transportation that assist seniors and individuals with disabilities.

Although vehicle requests are the priority for traditional funding, the Section 5310 program allows consideration for other eligible capital projects. Capital projects may include communications equipment; dispatch/scheduling software and hardware; and other related equipment to support an agency’s needs.

Vehicle categories/classifications for this solicitation of project applications for federal funding assistance include: Ambulatory Adult Passenger Capacity Ambulatory Adult Passenger Capacity (To be fully accessible and compliant with the ADA, all purchased vehicles must have a wheelchair lift (unless low-floor ramp) and wheelchair spaces.

“A” refers to ambulatory and “WC” is wheelchair position) For more information on procurements using FTA federal funds, including the OGS Bus Procurement coordinated between NYSDOT and OGS and used for FTA Section 5310 Program vehicle purchases, see the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Funded Procurement Information Page .

National Aging and Disability Transportation Center National Center for Mobility Management If you would like to obtain more information concerning the Section 5310 program, please feel free to e-mail your request to 5310 Program . The federal code assigned to the Section 5310 program in the Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) is 20. 513.

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